Portuguese Language Institute open classes in New York City

The Portuguese Language Institute originated in 2000 with the support of the Brazilian Consulate and the United Nations in New York. For nearly 10 years it has offered Portuguese language courses and Brazilian cultural awareness for children and adults.

In our small-group classes taught by university teaching professionals, students advance their speaking, presentation, accent, vocabulary, and writing skills with colleagues and friends who share similar interests.

Classes average 4 to 8 students per class, with a maximum of 12. The small class size ensures that everyone will be able to participate and receive the best experience possible.

We meet in our comfortable space at Two United Nations Plaza on East 44th Street, just across from UNICEF House, in Room 2000 on the 20th Floor. The building is just two blocks from Grand Central Station, which is easily reached by the # 4, 5, 6, 7 and S trains.

We strive to have you use Brazilian Portuguese in as large a variety of real-life situations as possible. To that end, our Brazilian Portuguese courses have been designed to build fluency in both spoken and written language. Communication in a warm and relaxed environment is an important feature of our programs, as is homework, which includes exercises for review and practice of the material taught in class. Moreover, by keeping the class size limited to twelve students, we ensure that each student will be able to actively participate.

There are five major course levels that we focus on and each level targets a speaking or writing skill.

Level 1Upon completion of this course, students can expect to be able to hold basic conversations about their daily activities using present and future tenses. This course aims to provide beginning students with a practical command of the vocabulary and grammar of the language. Topics include phonetics, expressions of time and quantity, subject pronouns, articles, possessives, interrogatives, and the present indicative, present progressive and compound future tenses of common verbs.

Level 2Building upon the basic foundation provided in Level 1, upon completion of this course, students should be able to converse with greater ease on an increasing range of topics as well as being able to read and write longer texts. Topics include prepositions, contractions, irregular verbs, demonstrative pronouns, ordinal numbers, adverbs, pronouns and tag questions. Students develop their ability to conjugate verbs in the preterit imperfect, preterit perfect, past progressive and present indicative verb tenses.

Level 3Building upon the skills studied in Level 2, students rapidly expand their vocabulary and begin to express themselves more precisely as they learn to use the simple future, past perfect and subjunctive tenses. Among the topics introduced at this level are idiomatic expressions, object pronouns, reflexive verbs, comparative and superlative forms, telling time, adverbs, and the passive voice.

Level 4Upon completion of this course, students should be able to discuss with greater precision topics including Southeastern and Southwestern Brazil, travel, study, work and festive occasions. Building upon the skills already acquired, students study reflexive verbs and pronouns, linking words, adjective and adverb clauses, diminutive and augmentative forms, and the preterit future tense.

Level 5For students who wish to further expand their skills, this course introduces more advanced topics including the compound subjunctive and the personal infinitive. This course helps students to tie together all the elements of grammar and usage covered up to this point. Students practice and refine their skills by discussing topics including Southern Brazil, media, sports and other social activities, clothing, parts of the body and health.

Also offered:Conversational PortugueseThis program is designed for students who are already proficient in the skills taught in Levels 1-5 and who want to increase their conversational abilities. Conducted entirely in Portuguese, this course provides students with an opportunity to markedly improve their speaking and listening skills. Magazines, video and audio tapes, and other resources designed to provide practical opportunities for vocabulary and skill development are selected to match student interests. Grammatical topics are addressed as needed.

GroupsGroups Are Specialized For Shared Goals and Interest AreasYour teacher adapts class content to the social and career interest areas of you and your colleagues.

How much does all this cost? It’s only $350.00 for 24 sessions. (12 weeks)Please contact us now to signup. Remember class size is limited.Contact: Rosely Saadrosely@portugueselanguageinstitute.com917 226 1074 or 212 532 3994